Time Unending
by Lily Morin
Summary: Moving on is hard, knowing she can never see him again is hard, finding herself immortal with no one is hard, watching her family fade and die is hard, knowing that now, she really could spend the rest of her life with him, is killing her. Rose/Ten fic
1. Time

Chapter One -o- Time

She stood at the window, her face a mask of indifference. There were two people standing behind her going over figures, interest was up, unemployment was down and life was good. She nodded her head, the information going in one ear and out the other. She had other things on her mind, much more important things. She nodded her head again and the room went silent. She turned from the window and looked at the two of them. A young man and a young woman, both looked to be about her age. They were not.

"Is that all?" She asked and the young man nodded and she smiled at them. "Thank you." He turned to leave but the woman stood her ground. "Something else Stacy?"

"Ma'am" She said pushing her hair back behind her ear. "Your granddaughter is here with her daughter. They were hoping for a moment."

"Thank you Stacy." She said smiling. It had been a good long while since she'd seen her granddaughter. "Would you have them come up?" Stacy nodded then turned and walked out a side door.

She sat down at her desk to wait and smiled when the elevator tinged and the doors opened. A small girl of about four came running out at top speeds. Her long blond hair, done in long plaits, was flying behind her. The little girl had the darkest brown eyes ever, far darker then her own eyes.

"Grandma Rose!" The little girl cried as she tried to climb up onto her desk. Rose lifted the child up and smiled at her. Only Jackie called her that, even though she looked like she could pass as the girl's mother. When, in truth, she was her great, great grandmother.

"Hello Jackie" Rose said smiling down at the small girl. "How are you?"

"I'm fine." The little girl told her looking back as her mother came walking in, her dark brown hair was done up in a bun on the back of her head. She was just like her mother, a fact that never ceased to amaze Rose. Jackie however took after Rose's side of the family, a fact that seemed to frazzle Kelly at times.

"Hello Rose." Kelly said smiling at her. She wasn't a cold woman; she just didn't show off her emotions much. Rose had always been confused by what Jason saw in her, he was such an open person.

"J.J. is gonna gradu...gradu..." The little girl looked up at her mum when she couldn't get the word out.

"Graduate sweetie." Kelly said smiling, though it was not hard to see that she loved her children very much.

"Yeah, that's the word." Jackie said nodding her head. "He's gonna gradu... He's gonna finish school." She said when she still couldn't get the word out right. "I'm 'pose to give you this." She said handing over a datapad Rose hadn't seen before.

"We'd really love it if you could come Rose." Kelly said sitting down across from her desk. Rose smiled at her and nodded her head sitting down with Jackie in her lap. "Jason would really love it if you were there."

"I'm sorry." Rose said setting Jackie down and smiling at her before she looked back up at Kelly. "I can't, there's just too much..." She trailed off and Kelly sighed as she nodded her head. She had known it was useless to ask, Rose never left this monsters tower. Her home, and her work, was here, at Torchwood.

"But I'd love it if you'd come here and have dinner with me next week. We'll celebrate." She smiled at Kelly as Jackie climbed up into her mother's lap.

"I'm sure they'd love that." Kelly said nodding her head smiling. "We'll I've got to get Jackie to school." Kelly said standing up a smile on her face.

"Of course," Rose said nodding her head smiling as well. "Tell Jason I'll have his graduation gift here for him."

"Of course," Kelly said smiling. "We'll see you next week."

"Good bye." Rose said watching the two of them walk out. Jackie looked back at her and waved from the elevator a small smile on her face. She looked so much like Rose's little Lily had looked at that age. Rose sat down in her chair and thought back. So very long ago. Lily had been gone now for almost 8 years. It was wrong, to have to watch your own child grow and wither in front of you while you stayed ever the same.

-o-o-o-o-o-

He looked up at the sound but couldn't put his figure on the source of it. He had been hearing it for days now, weeks even. But he had no idea where it was coming from, and neither did his TARDIS. It sounded like crying, like someone somewhere was crying. But there was no one on the ship, no one for more than a month now. It was hard, traveling alone. But it was harder still to continue to leave people behind. After _her_ it just seemed to get worse and worse each time. Martha had lasted a long while before she couldn't take it anymore.

They'd saved the world together, faced off against the Master, but she wanted to be with her family. He could understand that. He wanted to be with his family too. And of course there at the end he'd had Jack around too. That had been a double edged sword, good and bad. Good because he was fun and silly and so loved life, and bad because he made the Doctor think of _her_. But, in the end he was sad to see him go too.

Jack had had secrets, big secrets. _'I can't die.' _Had shocked the hell out of the Doctor, and it was awfully hard to shock him anymore. The Doctor concluded that something _she_ did when she brought him back to life had changed him, something in the vortex. The Doctor often worried over her as well, she'd had a bigger dose of it then Jack had. What secrets had she kept?

It had been years now, since he saw her last. And yet, when he closed his eyes he could still see her perfectly, right down to the small moll on her neck that she hated. There had never been any one like her, and he knew there never would be.

No one like his Rose.

-o-o-o-o-

Rose pulled her long blond hair back from her face and twisted it up into a bun. She held the clip board in her hand and stared at the white wall in front of her. It had been a long while since she'd been up here. Almost two years now. The technology was far more advanced than it had been, even 20 years ago. She was sure she was close now. She reached out with her free hand and placed it on the wall, part of her sure she could almost feel _his_ hand on the other side. She was sure it would only be a little while longer. She had to be sure though, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it would hold. That it wouldn't tear the very fabrics of the universe in two.

While as a young girl Rose had not liked school, the older, wiser her had known the only way she'd ever get back, get home, was to learn.

Before she'd known there was something...off...about herself she'd started school again. First she'd gotten her A levels. Then she'd moved on to a science degree and then a Masters in Quantum Mechanics. It had taken a lot of hard work, but it came to her after a while, easier then she would have thought. She'd met Tom in college, when she'd been 24 and studying for her degree. She'd fallen for him, it wasn't the same hard intense earth shattering love she carried in her heart for her Doctor, but it was love.

Tom didn't know about her Doctor, and she never told him. Her mum, Pete and Mickey never told him either. There was no need to know whose shoes he was trying to fill. Rose had been over joyed when she'd discovered she was pregnant. Lily had been born right before she was supposed to start school again. Rose had decided to take a year off, to be with Lily. Of course a year had turned into two and two turned into five. Rose didn't get back to school till she was almost 31, and by then she knew something was wrong with her.

She played it off to Tom as an experiment gone wrong at work, because while she'd continued school, she'd also stayed at Torchwood. For some reason she felt safe there, she had something to work for there. So it was the best explanation to give him without telling him about the Doctor. After all, he was bound to notice the fact that Rose didn't look a day older then the day they'd meet, seven years earlier. It had been nice at first, have the energy of a 20 year old while running after a 6 year old. But after a while it began to wear thin. When Lily was only ten, Tom left, he couldn't take her never aging as he grew steadily older. Lily grew and yet her mother never changed. When Lily was 16 Rose told her about the Doctor, her Doctor. Lily loved to hear about the man who still held her mother's heart. Though by now the two of them had decided it would be easier if Rose went as Lily's sister, rather than her mother. It hurt, more than Rose let on, to hear her daughter call her Rose instead of mum, and it killed her to watch as her daughter got older. After a while, what seemed like only seconds to Rose, Lily was married with her own child. Steven, what a joy he was. And Lily's husband, Kevin, he was all Rose could have hoped for her daughter to find. Steven called her Auntie Rose, and Kevin was brought in on their secret.

It was hard for Rose, to watch as her daughter grew and aged before her eyes. Everyday there seemed to be more age on her. And Steven grew so fast, primary school to secondary, and then on to college. And all the while Rose stayed as she was, watching her world change around her. Lily was almost 45 when Steven married Danielle, who was then introduced to Rose, who now lived at Torchwood. She was brought into the family secret; at first she didn't believe them, thinking it a joke on the new family member. But she came around after a while. And she saw for herself as the years went by. Danielle brought Jason into the world, and by then Rose was pushing 75 though she didn't look a day over 20. Lily was 49 when her grandson was born. Jason was just like his father, and like his grandmother and great grandmother before him. He went to school, thirsty to learn. He didn't seem to ever not be holding a book, always reading, always studying. So it had surprised them all when he'd meet, courted and married Kelly. A woman nothing at all like any of the women in his life. Their first son, Jason Jr., after his father, was born in 2086. Rose hit 100 years old three days after he was born and Lily was almost 75. Rose was 102 years old when her great, great granddaughter was born; Sandra came into the world two years after her brother.

But Lily, sweet, loving, Lily never got to see her last great grandchild born. She died when Sandra was only 5 years old. Lily was 76 when she slipped peacefully away in her sleep.

Rose closed her eyes and tried not to think about her daughter. It was so hard, to think about the child she'd been, the small energetic 6 year old running through the house with their puppy. Or the sassy 12 year old that didn't need her father and wouldn't open his letters when they came. The love struck 16 year old who loved to hear about The Doctor and all of her mother's adventures. Rose shook her head and opened her eyes looking back at the white wall; she pulled her hand away and let it hang beside her as the memories swamped her.

She knew now, more than ever, what the Doctor had been saying so long ago. _'You can spend the rest of your life with me. But I can't spend the rest of mine with you. I have to live on. Alone.' _Rose sometimes thought back to those words and it hurt. To know that know he could, he could love her the rest of his life. They could be together, forever. But she was here and he was there and there was only this white wall keeping them apart.

-o-o-o-

She had done it again. She was lying in bed staring up at her ceiling, watching as the blades of her fan moved noiselessly around. Almost 100 years and she still woke with the sounds of the TARDIS in her head. She still looked around her room, expecting to see her room on the ship. She swung her legs over her bed and got up. It was almost pointless to sleep any more. When she did it only lasted a few hours and it didn't seem to do much for her anyway.

She walked into her kitchen and started the tea. Tea, it always made her think of her mother, gone so long ago. And Mickey, she still watched over his family. His great, great granddaughter went to school with Sandra. Lily had only been 17 when Jackie had been hit by that car; Rose thought it ironic now, that her mum died the same way as her father, her real father. Pete lived to be almost 83 before he passed away. And her little brother, Mike, he was 71 when he died, only a few years before Lily.

"Ma'am" A voice said and Rose looked up at her comm and sighed. She looked at the clock; it was almost 3:30 in the morning, she had someone working on the White Wall project at all hours. Rose got up and walked over to her comm.

"Yes Tam?" She said into the comm.

"Ma'am" Tams voice said and Rose could hear a note of something new in her voice. "We've had a break through." She said and took a deep breath. They had a break through all the time. They were normally small and insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

"Ok." She said looking at her tea whistled. "Have...who's working right now?"

"Jackson." She answered back "But-

"Have Jackson write up a report, I'll read it over in the morning and-

"Ma'am, excuse me, but it's a little bigger than that." She said and Rose nodded her head. "Jackson wants you to come down, right now."

"Ok." Rose said nodding her head. She wasn't sleeping anyway. "I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

"Yes Ma'am, I'll let him know." Tam said then clicked off. Rose walked back to her room and threw on some clothes. She was working on not getting excited. It could be anything. They were close, but she didn't think they were that close.

-o-o-o-o-

"What is that?" he demanded at the funny sound. It almost didn't sound like it was coming from the ship anymore, almost like it was coming from everywhere. He felt like he had somewhere to be but couldn't figure out where or why. He sighed heavily as he sat down in the captains chair.

Something was going on, something even he couldn't figure out. He ran his hand through his hair in frustration and sighed. He felt like someone was watching, and waiting for him. Like there was a presence on the ship he couldn't see. He closed his eyes and reached out trying to see what it was, but all he could see was a white wall.

-o-o-o-

"So," Rose said as she walked into the lab. "What have you got for me Jackson?"

"Well." A tall skinny dark haired man smiled at her as he jumped up from his desk. He jittered like he'd had one too many cups of coffee, but that was just his way. He was American and one of the best on their team. "Well." he said again, "as Tam told you there's been a huge break through. We've been able to stabilize the power transfer, to almost 100 percent without any damage at all." He said and Rose's eyes lit up.

"Where is all the power coming from?" She asked as they both walked towards the white wall.

"Two places actually." Jackson turned to her and showed her a large black box. It was plain in every way, just a big, black, box. "This is from the Camrax," They were an alien race that had recently visited earth. "A parting gift from their king after their Prince tried to sell off all the children of our world." Rose had put a swift stop to that, with the help of her very large team. "It gives off more energy than 100 nuclear power plants."

"Oh, wow." Rose said nodding her head. "I didn't know we'd adapted it to our systems yet." Rose said and he nodded his head.

"Surprise," He said and Rose smiled looking very impressed.

"And the other place is here." He said walking her over to the white wall. "As you know it gives off low energy readings to begin with. We've been studying it more and more and Smitha found a way to use that energy in a kind of loop to help run it."

"Well," Rose said nodding her head. "You have been busy." She smiled at him, but he could see it didn't reach her eyes. "How much under 100 percent are we?"

"We're at 96.342 percent, but-

"No." Rose said shaking her head a grim look on her face now. "That's good Jackson, its great in fact but it's not good enough. Not yet." Rose hated to see that look of triumph fade but she had to do it. "No where under 100 percent is going to work. Not even .00000001 percent under."

"I know, but-

"It's taken us a very long time to get to this point." Rose said smiling at him reassuringly. "You're doing great, I'm so proud of you." She reached out and put her hand on his arm for a moment. "But it has to be perfect; otherwise we run the risk of-

"Tearing the fabrics of the worlds apart." Jackson said and she laughed lightly.

"Said that before have I?" She asked and he nodded his head.

"Once or twice." He said and she smiled.

"Go home, get some sleep. Isn't Kim's play tomorrow night?" He nodded his head and she smiled. "Take the night off, be with your daughter."

"But the Project is-

"Not as important as you spending ever second you have with your daughter." Rose said and he nodded his head. "Have fun."

"I will." He said nodding his head a slow smile spreading on his face. Rose turned to walk away but he called out to her. She turned around and he smiled. "Give me two weeks; I'll have it up to 100 percent."

"Jackson it took a specialized team almost 40 years to get it where it is now." She said smirking at him. He was always saying he'd get it to a 100 percent next week. He promised her, over and over, mostly it was a joke, but she knew they both wished it would work.

"Two weeks." He said again and she laughed and nodded her head walking out.

-o-o-o-

Finally he opened his eyes and jumped up as something struck him. He'd seen that wall before, had stared at it for hours and hated it more then he'd ever hated any inanimate object before. It was the white wall in Torchwood, the one that had been the almost end to his Rose. The place where she had been yanked from his life forever. He closed his eyes again and now he could hear the noise just a little more, it was still crying, but not tears of fear or pain, what was it? There was something happening, something huge, something earth shattering, life changing, course altering, huge.

What was it?

-o-o-o-o-

Rose signed something and set it aside as Stacy handed her another one. Rose looked down at her watch and smiled. In another hour her family would be here and she could give J.J. his graduation gift. Of course she'd gone a little over board, but she always did. She did love to spoil them as much as she could. She'd been doing it since Lily was a child. She'd loved being able to give her child things she'd missed out on.

"Miss Tyler" Rose looked up at Stacy and smiled.

"Yes?" She asked smiling up at Stacy.

"They've got it all wrapped up in the garage." Stacy said and Rose nodded her head. Ok, so she'd gone way over board.

"Thank you Stacy, will you see to it that my family is shown up as soon they get here?" She asked and Stacy nodded her head taking the last paper from Rose. Stacy knew what was so special about Rose, most that worked here did, but she didn't understand why Rose shut herself up in this huge tower, away from everyone, even her family. Eternity on earth and she stayed in, it just didn't make any sense to Stacy.

-o-o-o-o-

"Ok, I know you said nothing to big." Rose said smiling at the look of pure joy on JJ's face. She looked at Kelly, who, for her part, was holding back on the berating comment Rose knew was just below the surface. "But, a boy only graduates high school once." She held out the keys to the new air-bike. JJ leaned over; being a good five inched taller than her, and kissed her on the check.

"Thanks Rose." He said reaching out for the keys.

"There are two helmets." Rose said holding back the keys. "I expect one to be on you at all times and the other to be on your passenger? Do we understand each other?"

"Yes, I promise." He told her and she smiled brightly as she handed over the keys.

"Go get Sarah; I'm sure she'd love to take a ride with you." Rose called as he ran towards the bike.

"Wow, you're so cool Rose." Sandra said smiling up at her. She looked like her father more than her mother, which meant she looked a little like Lily, and that always made Rose smile. It was good to know, even though her Lily was gone, pieces of her lived on.

"Only two more years Sandra," Rose said a sparkle in her eyes. "What color do you want?"

"I want pink!" Jackie said raising her hands for Rose to pick her up.

"Well, you've got a few more years yet." Rose told her and she pouted a little.

"Rose, it really wasn't necessary." Kelly said taking a deep breath.

"I know, if it was necessary, it wouldn't be nearly as much fun." She looked down at Sandra and winked and the girl giggled.

"It seems we've been out done." Jason said laughing at the look on his wife's face. "We got him that new game system, you know, the new VR game." He watched as his oldest son sped away on his bike with a holler of thanks over his shoulder.

"I'm so glad he likes it." Rose told them as they all turned and walked back into her apartment.

"I want Purple," Sandra told rose answering her earlier question.

"I'll file that away from later." Rose told her nodding her head as she put her arm around the girl. "Now, who's up for some cake?"

"Me!!!" Jackie said bouncing up and down.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

He paced around the old broken down room. It had been a long while since he had been here. Though he found his way to the wall with hardly an upward glance. The wall looked almost just as it had, almost 8 years ago now. Though the rest of the place was falling down around him. He couldn't understand why he had been drawn to this place. There was still no way, as far as he could tell, to bring her back, if she was even still alive. The universes could travel on very different time waves; there was no way of knowing just how long it had been for her. He reached out and placed his hand on the wall, as he had so long ago, and a tear slipped out as he thought of her, doing the same.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Rose sat at her desk, a cup of tea and her left hand and a pen in her right. For the past ten years or so, she had been writing, rewriting and writing again, her story. She wanted it down on paper, something to give to her family, something they could have always. It took her a while, to get it all just right, and while it would have been easier to just record it from her mind, she wanted to do it the old fashion way.

Rose had two plans, one was as easy as, they got the wall to work and she went home. The other plan was not that simple. Rose had decided when she took on this project that if she couldn't get it to work that was it for her. She was tired, tired of living without him, tired of watching those she loved die, tired of life. So, if this didn't work, if they couldn't open the rift without killing everyone in all the worlds out there, then she was going to do the next best thing to dying. She was going to have herself cryogenically frozen. She wouldn't be alive though she wouldn't be dead either, just, there. No more pain and fear, just a deep sleep where she could live in her dreams forever.

But, before either of those things, she wanted to get down on paper her life, and her love of her family. It was hard for her, the prospect of losing everyone here that she loved. But it was harder still to sit back and watch as they grew old and died. It may be a little selfish of her, but after all these years, she thought she deserved to be a little selfish. Rose put her pen down and looked at the time; it was 4:15 a.m. on a Friday morning. She was finally done, she was sure now. She hadn't forgotten anything this time. She picked up the stack and flipped it over removed the first page, and began to read.

_It was 7:30 when my alarm when off that morning. I woke up not knowing that my world was about to change, for the better..._

-o-o-o-o-o-

"This_ can't_ be right." Rose said looking up at Jackson; whose grin was so wide Rose thought it might split his face in two. "Are you-

"We've gone over it all night, over and over, I'm sure. In fact I've gone beyond sure. I'm so positive I feel like dancing." Jackson grabbed her free hand and twirled her around the small office. "So?"

"There are still test to run, Jackson, we can't just jump into this head first and-

"Didn't I tell you?" He asked as he stopped dancing and looked down at her. "Didn't I say, two more weeks?"

"You did." Rose said nodding her head. She was trying to stay calm, trying not to get too excited, this could all come crashing down around her and she didn't think she could handle that. "There are still so many things to test and-

"Would you lighten up a little and celebrate with me?" He asked shaking his head at her. "We just did something that everyone said was impossible, but they should have known, nothing is impossible with Rose Tyler!" Rose smiled, pulling on hidden joy and nodded her head. She'd once thought that too, nothing seemed impossible when the Doctor was involved, but she'd buried that hope, put it away. It was hard to pull it out again when she'd lived so long without it.

"Ok, ok, this calls for a glass of champaign." Rose said nodding her head and Jackson smiled.

"That's more like it." He nodded and reached into his shoulder bag and pulled out a bottle. "Been saving this since the day I joined the project." He told her as he fiddled with the top. "Janet brought it back from some tiny town in America." It popped open and fizzled over the top a little and they both laughed.

"Ok." Rose said taking the bottle from him when he offered it. She looked around the small office he had pulled her into to give her the news. There were no glasses, no cups of any kind. She smirked at him a little as a giddy feeling began to fill her chest. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"To the beginning." Rose said raising the bottle high then tipping it back and taking a drink. She handed the bottle off to Jackson and he smiled.

"To_ your_ beginning." He told her as he too took a long drink off the bottle. Rose nodded her head slowly as she watched him drink. She could go home, she could start again, and she could be with him. Jackson lowered the bottle and smiled at her. He reached out and wiped away the tear that fell, she hadn't even realized she was crying.

"So, let's get started on those tests shall we?" He asked after a long silence. Rose took a deep breath and nodded her head.

"Let's," She told him taking the bottle when he offered it to her. Buffy

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Jack sat at his desk going over paper work. It was a slow week; actually, it had been a slow month. Nothing worth looking into had happened, and Jack was starting to get a little restless. Owen poked his head into the office and Jack looked up at him. He had a small smile on his face and Jack smiled back. He looked down at his clock and nodded his head.

"Heading home?" He asked and Owen nodded his head stepping into the room.

"Tosh has an appointment in the morning." Owen said and Jack nodded his head.

"How's she doing?" Jack asked and Owen smirked looking over his shoulder at her. She was sitting behind her computer her chin resting in one hand.

"She's good, tired a lot, morning sickness has passed though, for the most part." He told Jack a smirk on his face.

"Thank god." Jack said and Owen laughed nodding his head.

"Hey guys!" Tosh called as she sat up straighter in her chair. She looked towards Jack's office. "I've got something here!"

"What is it?" Jack asked as he and Owen ran out to her desk. Gwen and Ianto were headed over too when they got there. Tosh looked up at them a smile on her face.

"I've got rift activity." She told them a little too excited about it. Man they were all getting a little bored, not to mention every one of them was an adrenalin junkie. "There's something major going on here."

"Here?" Jack asked and she nodded her head.

"Yeah, like, right outside our front doors." She told him as a smile curled on her lips.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"So, this is it huh?" Jackson asked as he smiled down at her. She was holding a small bag, mostly filled with pictures of her family and mementos of her life here.

"Yeah," Rose said nodding her head a sad smile on her face.

"And your family?" He asked and Rose touched the little bag.

"We had a big dinner last night. I told them what was going on." She said nodding her head. "We said our good-byes." She told him sadly.

"I wish..." He trailed off and Rose nodded her head smiling. "I wish you could visit." He said changing the course of his words.

"Me too." She told him nodding her head. She looked over his shoulder at the techs behind him and took a deep breath.

"Everything ready?" She asked and Smitha looked up from his control panel and nodded his head. "100 percent?" She asked a small smile on her face. Part of her was excited, going home, to him. Part of her was scared this wouldn't work, that it would fizzle and sputter and then nothing. And another part of her was worried, what if they did something wrong, what if it tore everything to shreds and she destroyed the world?

"Don't worry." Jackson said touching her arm pulling her from her worries. "This is going to work; we've been going over things for a month. You just have to take that final step now." Rose nodded her head and looked up at him; his eyes were shining with tears that Rose knew he was trying to hide. They had grown close over the years he'd been here; he was very much like a brother to her.

"I'll miss you Toby." She said calling him by his first name, something she never did with any of the staff.

"I'll miss you too Rose." He said and she leaned in and hugged him. She pulled away and then brushed the single tear from his eye. He laughed and she smiled as she took a step away from him.

"Smitha, turn it on, let's see what this thing can do." She called over to Smitha. He nodded his head and she watched as switches were flicked and there was a loud rumbling. She looked up at Jackson now, as the noise levels rose.

"You remember what to do?" She asked just above a whisper, so just he would hear her. He nodded his head a solemn look on his face.

"It has to look like an accident." Rose told him still whispering.

"I know, I've got it worked out." He told her nodding his head. Rose, trusting no one else to do it, had left him the dirty little job of destroying the wall and all the work they had done on it. While she was sure it would be ok for this one jump (Well, 99.99999 percent sure) She couldn't know how well it would stand up to more, the link had to be cut, and sealed. Jackson knew just what to do and she trusted him to do it.

"You have a safe trip, and tell that Doctor of yours he'd better treat you well, or, link or no link I'll come over there and kick his ass." Jackson told her making her laugh.

"I'll be sure he gets the message." She told him nodding her head. He nodded too and his smiled faltered.

"Ok." He told her handing over the small round object he'd been holding. It was shaped kind of like the ones Rose had used before, so very long ago, but this was build for one jump, no back and forth. "So, good-bye Rose."

"Good-bye Toby." She told him a smile on her face as she pushed the button and waited. Seconds later Jackson was alone in front of the white wall starring at the spot she had just been.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Where now?" Jack asked as they all pilled out of the elevator onto the street above Torchwood. Tosh held a small palm sized tracker in her hand and waved it around a little. There was a small crackling of light and Tosh smiled.

"There." She said pointing to a spot fifty meters away from them. Someone or something was opening some kind of a portal. It flickered a little as though having trouble opening. They all set off running, ready to subdue whatever came through. They didn't get to close; you never know how violent these portals could get. There was a spike in the electricity in the air and the hairs on the back of their necks stood on end and there was a bright flash of light.

Jack stared at what seemed to be the back of a human head, connected to the rest of a human body of course. Long blond hair fell down what Jack assumed was a girl's back. He watched her take a deep breath, as her shoulders rose and fell slowly.

He watched as she turned, her posture was stiff and her movements' were jerky, her head bowed so that her hair fell in a curtain around her face. Her shoulder bag slid slowly down her arm but she caught it before it could fall. Slowly she raised her head, her hair falling to the sides. Jacks mouth fell open as he stared at her. Her eyes were glowing, a bright amber light, a light that seemed to radiate from her, everywhere.

"Rose." He whispered as he stared at her.

"_She's gone, Jack. She's not just living on a parallel world. She's trapped there. The walls have closed."_ The Doctors words echoed through Jacks mind as he stared at her. Jack took a step towards her as the light began to fade. Before it was gone he was at her side easing her down as she collapsed in his arms.

"Jack." She whispered her eyes all but normal now.

"I'm here." He told her and she nodded her head slowly. "I'm here." He told her again as she met his eyes; something in them scared the breath out of him. Rose, looking no more than her 20 years, and yet, her eyes told a very different story. "What happened?" He asked but she shook her head.

"Jack" She said his name again and he nodded his head smiling as the worry began to over take him. "I did it? I didn't destroy the world?" She asked her voice weak and Jack knew she was moments from passing out.

"Tosh how's the rift look?" Jack called over his shoulder.

"Everything is stable." She called back and Jack nodded down at Rose.

"Sure looks that way." He told her and she smiled again as her eyes drooped.

"Doctor," Rose whispered as her eyes finally fell shut and she passed out. Jack just watched as her chest rose and fell, her breathing an easy steady rhythm. He pulled her close and slipped his other arm under her legs and stood with her cradled in his arms.

"Owen, you look her over for me?" Jack asked as he passed his team. "I know you wanted to get home-

"Of course, don't worry" Owen cut him off nodding his head. Everyone exchanged looks as they followed him towards the elevator.

"Who is she?" Ianto asked looking to Gwen, who had been the only one standing right next to Jack when he'd spoken.

"Rose." Gwen said and they all looked astonished. Jack had told them all about this woman, his best friend, trapped in a parallel world. They had all thought, as had he, that there was no way back.

-o-o-o-o-o-

_'Doctor,'_ the word seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere. It rolled through his mind, over and over again. He knew that voice, would never, as long as he lived, be able to forget that voice. But it wasn't possible, he'd searched, there was no way. If he couldn't do it...there was no way. The whole room seemed to be buzzing with energy now. The walls around him seemed to scream with the power, and it was a very familiar power. Finally he raced into the TARDIS and slammed the door behind him before running to the controls. He pushed, twisted and prodded as he looked for answers. When he found the rift shift in Cardiff his head swam.

"It can't be." He told the ship as he did the search again. "No!" He said shaking his head as his eyes filled with tears. "No, it can't be." He finally set the coordinates, he had to get to Cardiff, to Torchwood, he had to find out what was going on. He shook his head as the feelings of hope began to worm their way into his hearts.

"No." He said again refusing to believe this until he was standing, staring at the proof. If he let himself believe and then he was wrong...He didn't think he could stay sane through that. He took a deep breath and set the TARDIS off.


	2. Forever

Chapter Two -o- Forever

Jack sat at the end of the couch as he watched her sleep. She slept fitfully, tossing and turning no matter what he did. He couldn't get her to wake either and it was beginning to worry him a little. What had she done to get here? He looked up at the clock on Tosh's computer and shook his head. She'd been here for almost an hour now, where the hell was the Doctor? Wasn't he supposed to be here? Isn't that how this happened? Couldn't he feel her? Jack looked down at her sleeping form and sighed, hell even Jack could feel the waves of power coming off of her, how could _he_ not? Rose shifted in her sleep and sighed.

"Lily," Her voice was soft as she called out the name. Jack stood and looked down at her wondering who Lily was. She tossed and turned and a small sob escaped her as she cried out for Lily again. Jack looked behind him when he finally heard what he'd been waiting for for an hour now. Jack walked quickly towards the sound and was a little surprised when the TARDIS materialized in his office. Jack only stood there for a moment before the door swung open and a frantic looking Doctor came barreling out.

"What happened?" He asked and Jack smirked.

"Well hello to you too." Jack said and stepped back when the Doctor looked up at him and actually growled. Jack laughed lightly and sighed.

"Come on." Jack said reaching out and taking his arm. He led him out of the office and into the empty hub. Rose was on the couch behind the computers, her head resting on a few pillows. She let out a shuttered breath and then the termers that had been with her the whole time she slept were gone. The Doctor just stared at her, his face ashen, with his mouth slightly open. He took a step towards her then stopped, he looked back at Jack and Jack nodded.

"It's her." Jack assured him nodding his head.

The Doctor looked back at her, still unable to move any closer, he just stared, his eyes fixated on her face. The soft curve of her jaw, the small mole on her neck, the way her hair fanned out over the couch, he wanted to memorize every inch of her. He finally found his feet and took a step towards her, then another and after a few long strides he was by her side. He reached out for her hand but stopped short pulling his hand back in as though something had shocked him.

He looked back up at Jack, his eyes wide, before he looked back at Rose. Finally he reached out and took her hand and sucked in a deep breath. She was steeped in time; it was all over her, washing over her skin like water. The Doctor sat next to her on the edge of the couch and shook his head. He could feel it on her; she was not 20, even if she may still look it. She was much older, and that scared him so badly. What had happened? Was it the vortex? Had it changed her, like it did Jack? He looked up again and met his eyes.

"I don't know what it is." Jack said shaking his head as he walked over slowly. "But, you can see it in her eyes. She's been through a lot over there." But the Doctor knew, he knew exactly what had happened, and he was sure Rose knew too.

"Rose." The Doctor said looking back down at her. "Oh Rose, I'm so sorry." He said as he leaned down and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. He pulled her close and was shocked when her arms came up and encircled him too.

"Wow." She whispered as he pulled away slightly. He looked her in the eyes and his hearts almost broke at what he saw there. Where once there had been innocence and courage he now saw the bitter and harmful ravages of time, her eyes, they reminded him of his own.

"Still not ginger?" She asked a small smile on her face as she looked him over. He looked the same, for the most part. His eyes were sadder, but then, she imagined her eyes looked a little different too. Wearily she wondered how long it had been for him, the same as her, longer, shorter? She sat up slowly and the Doctor moved away a little, never more than an arm's length though.

"I just...I don't..." The Doctor trailed off twice before he shook his head and just stared.

"Well, you've finally done it Rose." Jack said pulling a chair over. It felt so good, sitting next to the Doctor and Rose, a little like old times and he smiled. "You finally made the Doctor speechless." Rose smiled and nodded her head, though; both men were quick to notice the smile didn't quite reach her eyes.

"How?" The Doctor finally breathed out looking up and meeting her eyes again. She looked away and down at her hands. Of all the things she'd hoped he'd say, that hand not topped the list. But then, he wouldn't be her Doctor if he wasn't a little clinical.

"I told you Doctor, you couldn't get rid of me so easily." She joked but neither of the men laughed and she sighed. She rubbed her forehead and then sat up and stood. She steadied after only a few seconds and she was thankful for it.

"Where's the bathroom?" She asked looking around the odd, what she assumed was underground, little hub. Jack pointed and Rose nodded her head walking away without another word. Jack shook his head, reached out and slapped the Doctor upside the head.

"Ow!" He said rubbing his head as he glared at Jack "what was that for?"

"You haven't seen the girl in eight years and the first thing out of your mouth is 'How?' Really?" Jack rolled his eyes and sighed. "You couldn't have at least started with 'hi?'" Jack asked.

"I don't-

"Ah!" Jack said standing and pointing a finger at the doctor. "Don't, whatever she just did, and how ever she just did it, she did it to come back, to _you_." Jack said looking him in the eyes. "I know your rules, don't get to close, no domestics, but, this one time, I think they're worth breaking." He grabbed his coat and headed towards the door. The Doctor watched him storm towards the doors. He was right; Rose was certainly worth breaking rules for. And more than that, he wanted to break the rules, he so wanted her to be more than his companion, he just didn't know how to go about it. It had been a...very long time.

"I'll be back in a few hours, you two better be here when I get back." Jack warned him as the door rolled open. The Doctor nodded his head and watched as Jack flung his coat on and walked out.

"Where's Jack going?" Rose asked as she walked back into the room. The Doctor looked up at her, she'd pulled her long hair back into a bun and the Doctor thought it looked good on her, different, but good.

"Out," The Doctor said before he stood and walked over to her. He reached out and took her hand; it still fit perfectly into his. "How long?" He asked unable to stop himself. Rose's eyes fell shut and she looked down for a moment, then, opening her eyes, she looked back up at him. He could see the barely constrained emotions behind her wall and he sighed.

"A hundred and ten years, give or take a few." Rose told him and he visibly winced as his hearts broke for her. She squeezed his hand and a ghost of a smile played on her lips.

"And you still wanted-

"Always," She told him nodding her head. Never in all that time had she stopped hoping to find a way. "I didn't even have a picture of you." She told him as she let go of his hand and walked towards Jack's office. "All I had were memories, and they were beginning to fade a little. To tell you the truth, I'm a little glad you're...you still." She smirked at him and he nodded his head then her smile faltered a little.

"How long has it been here?" She asked looking around, the things here looked newer then what she remembered, but not nearly as far advanced as things had gotten in Pete's world.

"Almost nine years." The Doctor whispered. He knew it would be hard for her, it was hard for him. TO have been away from her for so long only to find it had been so much longer for her, she must be aching on the inside.

"Wow." She said astonished as she took a deep breath. "So, nine years huh?" Tears prickled in her eyes and she wasn't sure why. It wasn't as though she'd hoped he had suffered as she had, but eight years, that was...nothing, not to her, not anymore.

"And Jack, there's something...off about him." She looked the Doctor in the eyes. He fidgeted a little and stuffed his hands in his pockets. She almost smiled at the very familiar gesture.

"He can't die." The Doctor told her and she laughed out loud, it was a bitter laugh and the Doctor winced. It seemed he'd had a frown on her face since she woke up, wasn't he glade to see her?

"Him too huh?" She asked and he nodded his head once.

"I'm sorry." He told her and she shook her head.

"I don't want you to be sorry." She exclaimed suddenly mad, though she didn't know just why. After a hundred years of not seeing him she'd thought she'd want to curl up in his lap and never leave him, now all she really wanted to do was smack him.

"It's been a century for me Doctor; do you really think I came all the way back here for your apologies?" She demanded as she reached out and grabbed his tie, pulling him in closer to her. "I don't want you to be sorry!" She told him her voice rising a little.

"What do you want?" He asked, at that moment he would have gone anywhere, done anything for her.

"I want you to want me!" She told him yelling now tears streaming down her face as she released his tie, he stumbled back a pace. "I want you to take me into your arms, tell me that I waited, but not for nothing! I want..." She halted her voice hitching as she looked up at him. "I want you to love me!"

It took Rose a second to register that fact the she was being kissed. It had been so long she'd begun to forget how wonderful the feel of someone's lips could be. Her arms went around him at once, her fingers digging into his suit jacket, holding on for dear life. She smiled against his lips as her hair fell from its bun with one tug from the Doctor. She ran her hands up his back, finally running her fingers through his hair.

She took a step away after a good minute of good old fashion snogging and smiled at him. His hair was mussed a little from where she'd run her fingers through it, and he had a soft blush going that Rose thought he should always have, from now on. A hundred years old and the Doctor made her feel like a twenty year old again.

"I was wondering..." She trailed off a small smile on her face now. He hadn't said it, not in so many words, but she would give him time. She reached for the neck of her blouse and his breath caught in his throat. She smirked and giggled as she reached under her shirt and pulled out a long silver chain with a small key at the end. The Doctor reached out and took the key into his hand.

"I wear it, close to my heart." She told him, it sounded a little cheesy, even to her, but she meant it. It was her one piece of him, and she'd had it on her, always. He nodded his head and took her hand leading her into Jack's office. She ran her hand down the TARDIS as she let out a soft sigh.

"I missed you." She told the ship and the Doctor chuckled. She'd always talked to the TARDIS, just as he had. And, something told him, the TARDIS talked back, in her own way.

"We missed you too." The Doctor told her. She reached out and unlocked the door and smiled when she stepped inside. It was like taking a huge step into the past. It looked almost exactly the same. She almost expected to see the red jumper she'd left hanging on the banister the last time she was here.

"Is my room-

"Right where you left it," The Doctor told her nodding his head. She smiled up at him and took off at a run, the Doctor right behind her. She was standing there, just looking, when the Doctor caught up to her. The door, a little different then she left it, had a red rose painted on the front in an almost Celtic design.

"It's beautiful." She said looking at him.

"I didn't do it, TARDIS did." He said smiling at her as he ran his hand down the side of the ship. "It's her way of remembrance. You should have seen Jacks door when I finally found it again." He told her laughing a little. She smiled and turned back to the door then reached out and grasped the doorknob.

She opened the door slowly, as voices and memories whispered through her head, laughing, running, living, everything she had done here. It had been so very, very long ago. She stepped into the room and her breath caught in her throat. It was the same, down to the blush she'd thrown on her bed before she'd run after the Doctor that morning. So much lost, so much time, gone.

There was no dust, as you might expect, but Rose figured that was down to the TARDIS. She looked around as she walked towards her bed. The pictures that lined one wall made tears well in her eyes again; she blinked and tried to shake it off as she sat down on her bed. He'd been in here before, talking, or relaxing after running for their lives for the day. There was a chair at the end of the bed he usually sat in, but today he sat next to her on the bed.

"Did you come in here after...?" She trailed off her voice low. She was afraid she might cry again. She had grown to hate crying very quickly and stopped doing completely a very long time ago.

"For a while," The Doctor told her as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. He reached into his jacket and pulled something out. It was a black flat box, what she thought looked like a cigarette case. He handed it over and she took it her hands shaking a little. She pushed in the little button on the side and it clicked open, reviling a picture. It was one of her and him, something her mum had taken that first Christmas, right after his change.

"I kinda stole it from your house, didn't think your mum would mind." He told her and she nodded her head looking down at the picture as the tears slid down her cheek, even though she was still trying to fight them back.

"I miss her." Rose said, referring to the younger, wide eyed, fun loving her. She had changed so much, she wasn't sure she could ever be that girl again and it scared her. She ran her hand over the picture and looked up to meet his eyes.

"So did I," The Doctor told her pulling her closer to him. "But you're home now." He assured her and she nodded her head as she finally let the tears fall. Fifty years of suppressed tears welled in her as the damn holding them in broke. She covered her face, dropping the picture in her lap in the process, and he pulled her closer to him.

"Rose, sweet wonderful Rose," he soothed as she laid her head in his lap and wept. She cried for everything, her mum, Pete and Mickey. Her sweet little girl, gone forever, her family back there, where she could never see them again. And she cried for herself, for her Doctor, and the time they had lost.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Jack walked through the silent ship, his key hanging from his neck, he wasn't sure where to find them, but he knew where to start looking. He pushed the door open slowly and found them, both lying on her bed, her asleep and wrapped in his arms. The Doctor smiled at Jack as he walked in. Rose shifted and took a deep breath as her eyes fluttered open.

"Hi." She told him smiling. She seemed to be a little lighter now; he hoped she and the Doctor had talked.

"I thought you might want this." Jack said handing her the shoulder bag. She reached out and took it nodding her head. She set it down next to her and wiped at her eyes, she must look a mess.

"Do you..." The Doctor took her hand, a comforting gesture, "Do you want to tell us about it?" He asked and she looked down at the bag. She did, she so badly wanted to tell him everything, but she knew there would be more tears and she wasn't sure if she was up for that. So she settled for a small joke while she decided.

"Would you like to hear about it all now or in dribs and drabs over the next two years?" She asked smirking at him as she pulled the shoulder bag closer to her. The Doctor smiled sheepishly at the jab. It may have taking a while to open up, but he couldn't help it, it was in his blood.

"Just tell us what you want to." He finally settled on and she smiled thankfully at him nodding her head. She opened the bag, and pulled out a framed picture. It was an old photo, one of her and her husband and their little girl. She ran her hand over the face of her daughter and smiled. It had been a while since she pulled these pictures out to look at. But she couldn't have left without at least one picture, so she took quite a few. She pulled the picture close to her chest and smiled.

"I figured the only way I was ever going to get home was if I learned all I could and then took over the White Wall project." The astonished look on the Doctor's face didn't go unnoticed by Rose and she smirked. "Yeah, finally got my A levels."

"By the time I left I had been head of Torchwood for over fifty years, though they had a new public figure head every ten years or so." She chuckled a little and shook her head. "Would have been a little odd, me never aging and all." Finally she pulled the picture away and handed it to the Doctor. "I met Tom when I was 24 or so, in college." She told him as he looked down at the picture. "Lily was born a few years later."

"Your daughter?" The Doctor asked and Rose nodded her head. She looked just as the Doctor would imagine Rose looked as a young child. Her hair was pulled back in twin plaits and she was smiling at the camera.

"You two would have loved her." She said the tears filling her eyes now. It was ok though; they were more happy tears then sad now, remembrance wasn't so bad when she had the Doctor and Jack flanking her. "She was so energetic, always running, always looking for trouble. And she was such a flirt when she got older, I've no idea where she got it from, I think it was the stories of you that brought it out in her." Rose said turning an accusing eye on Jack. He just smiled charmingly and shook his head.

"Don't know what you mean." He told her and Rose laughed.

"Right," she said nodding her head before she sighed. "I didn't notice there was something wrong with me till I was almost 29. Lily was almost four by then and people would give me dirty looks, since I still looked like nineteen or twenty, people assumed I had her when I was a teen. I hadn't aged, at all. Tom was the first person to come right out and ask me about it. I blamed it on Torchwood, an experiment gone wrong. I told him the scientist were looking into it, that there was nothing to do about it for now." She paused and pulled out something else from the bag. It was another photo, this one a little smaller.

"I didn't know I couldn't die till Lily was almost ten. I fell out of a two story building while chasing down an alien, don't even remember what it was now. Landed on concert, broke my neck in three places, hurt like hell." Rose looked up at Jack and met his eyes and he nodded his head in understanding. "Tom couldn't take it, me not getting older, not dying, he left, a week after Lily's tenth birthday."

"I'm sorry." The Doctor said taking her hand into his. She looked down at the linked hands and nodded her head. She handed the Jack a picture of her and Lily, sitting in a park, on a picnic blanket both eating watermelon with huge smiles on their faces.

"So, me and Lily, we moved on. When she turned sixteen I told her about you, and Jack." Rose smiled from one to the other meeting both their eyes. "I didn't have any pictures, but she was a fantastic artist, and through me she did a few renderings." Rose dug into her bag again and pulled out a notebook sized pad of paper. She flipped it open to the first page and smiled down at the picture. "She did this one when she was 16, the night of her party."

Rose handed the picture over to the Doctor, and Jack stood, so he could get a better look. It was a picture of Rose, Jack and the Doctor, only it was the ninth Doctor. He and the Doctor had their arms around Rose and they were all smiling. Jack and the Doctor were slightly surprised by the likeness of their pictures.

"When she was eighteen she started to sew, and she made herself a 1950's military jacket Jack, just like yours." Rose pulled out something from the bag and handed it to Jack. It was a much older Lily, very much like Rose when he'd met her, in a coat just like his, with a huge smile on her face. The Doctor, not really listening to them flipped forward in the art pad.

"There's one missing." He said when he came to a page that had been torn out. A soft look filled Rose's eyes and she nodded her head. She reached into her bag again and pulled out a new picture.

"Lily did this for my 45th birthday." Rose said handing him the picture. It was one of him and her, lying in the grass on his coat, staring up at the sky.

"New, New Earth," The Doctor remembered and Rose nodded her head.

"Yeah," Rose said a dreamy smile on her face that matched his. Rose looked down at the pictures that laid around on the bed now and shook her head lightly. It was so hard, missing her little girl had eased a tiny bit in the last eight years, but brining it all back like this, it was hard.

She pushed the pictures away from her so she could get off the bed. She rolled her shoulders and smiled at the two of them. They both looked the same, so much the men she had left behind, if maybe a little different, a little sadder. But she was no longer that Rose, she was older, wiser, and different. She'd have to find what place she had in this new world again. She couldn't just be the Doctor's companion, not any more. But for now she would let time flow, and see where it led them.

"I'm going to make a cuppa-" Rose grabbed her head and doubled over suddenly. Both men were up and at her side in a flash, trying to help her. "No!" She screamed out as she shook her head. She flung them off as they tried to sooth her. "Oh god, oh god! Stop!" She shook back and forth, as though trying to get away from something. "Oh god! No!" She screamed before she fell in the Doctor's arms and passed out.

Both men looked down at her then up at each other. The Doctor gathered her up in his arms and headed out the door and down the hall. Best thing to do was get her to the infirmary, see what the hell had just happened.

"Doctor-

"I don't know." The Doctor told him looking down at her as he walked. "But the TARDIS will." He told him nodding his head speeding his pace a little. "She'll know."

-o-o-o-o-o-

"Some kind of a vision, she doesn't know quite what it was." The Doctor told him his voice full of frustration. He looked at the monitors then back down at Rose and swore in a language Jack didn't recognize, and he was surprised when the TARDIS didn't translate.

"No." both men looked down at her as her eyes fluttered open. The look of horror on her face scared them both to their core. "No!" She said again more forcefully as she tried to sit up.

"Hey now," The Doctor said putting his hand on one of her shoulders. "What happened?"

"I brought something over, something...I'm sorry." She said looking up and meeting his eyes. "I didn't mean to, I didn't think, I never even considered." She shook her head as she pleaded with him.

"Rose, whatever it is, whatever you think you've done, we'll fix it." The Doctor told her but she just shook her head.

"What happened?" The Doctor asked again lifting her chin to look her in the eyes.

"It must have come through with me...I don't know how it did it, but it did." She pulled her head from his fingers and looked down. "I'm sorry."

"What's 'it?' Jack asked and she looked over at him and he could see the shutter that ran through him.

"Daleks," Rose said shaking her head again as she looked up and met the Doctor's eyes. "I'm sorry."

"You weren't to know." The Doctor said pushing a strand of hair out of her face.

"But I knew there were risks, I could've...I could've, ripped apart the whole world." Rose shook her head and pushed up from the bed swinging her feet over the side. She slid down and winced a little when she hit the ground, her head was killing her. "God, I'm such a wanker, you said it couldn't be done, said there was no way. But did I listen?" She paused for a moment and began to pace back and forth. "No, I did it anyway, pushed myself through using alien tech and-

"Actually I don't think that's quite true." The Doctor told her and she looked up at him stopping her pacing.

"What?" Rose and Jack said at the same time.

"The TARDIS hacked into Torchwoods security cameras, I watched you arrive, the way your body glowed, your eyes were a bright golden color, I don't think your White Wall project brought you through, at least, not it alone." The Doctor told her and slowly it began to dawn on her what he was saying.

"Bad Wolf," Rose whispered and the Doctor nodded his head. "So, I really did do this." She took a deep breath and nodded her head. "Well then, we'll just have to find them and destroy them, again." She rolled her eyes and then smiled at him.

"Right," The Doctor agreed giving her a goofy grin as he nodded his head. "You can see what they're doing yeah?" He asked as he walked around the room.

"Yeah," Rose nodded her head as she watched him closely.

"So you must be linked somehow to them." He continued to look around the room.

"Don't much like that idea." Rose said and the Doctor nodded his head.

"Me either." Jack agreed nodding his head. All three of them looked up at the very light pounding sound coming from the control room.

"What time is it?" Jack asked looking around the room. He sighed and rolled his eyes, "Never mind." He ran from the room towards the doors and Rose took a deep breath.

"So, we can fix this right?" Rose asked as she watched the Doctor search for something.

"Course we can." He said as he lifted something up off the counter. "Hmmm..." He put it back down and then shook his head. "Maybe I left it in the library?" He asked no one before he turned and walked out of them room. Rose smiled to herself as she walked out after him, he so often got lost in his thoughts, she found it very endearing.

"And the Daleks?" Rose asked when they were in the library, as he searched for something.

"May be a bigger problem than we thought," Both Rose and the Doctor turned to see Jack standing just inside the room a grim look on his face.

-o-o-o-o-o-

The Doctor looked around the hub of the underground Torchwood. He shifted back and forth on his feet, feeling very uncomfortable. There was not a whole lot of places he hated being in more. Even if the place was run by Jack. Before, when he'd first gotten here all he'd been thinking about was Rose; he'd hardly realized where he was. But now, standing in front of a computer bank with Rose on one side and Jack on the other he wanted nothing more than to be back in the TARDIS.

"So Tosh," Jack said to the very pregnant Japanese women that sat behind one of the many computers. "Tell the Doctor and Rose what you told me."

"Well, we've been getting some odd reading." Tosh said as she shifted from screen to screen. "Something keeps popping through the rift, but not here. They're popping up all over. I think there're about twenty of them now."

"Daleks," The Doctor said and Jack nodded his head. "Twenty?"

"For now, the last one popped in about an hour ago." She said nodding her head not knowing what a 'Dalek' was, but by the look on Jack's face she was sure it was bad.

"Do we have any video link up to the places they're popping into?" Rose asked and Tosh turned back to the computer. She typed like she was on speed, and a second later a video screen appeared on the computer. It looked like some kind of shopping center, though it looked as though it had gone through a war.

"This is from about two hours ago." Tosh said as they all watched intently. Something glided onto the screen and Rose took an involuntary step back. It was a Dalek alright, black and gold, with its nasty blue eye. Tosh reached over and flipped on the speakers. The room filled with screaming and Rose closed her eyes tightly.

"EXTERMINAT!" Rang out through the room and a bright flash shot across the screen. "EXTERMINAT!" They all watched as a person a few feet away fell to the ground in a lifeless lump. Rose opened her eyes and shook her head. She felt a little foolish for feeling so childish but she couldn't help it. These guys had never done anything but hurt and killed people, usually people close to her.

"Turn it off." Rose pleaded and Tosh reached over and turned the sound off.

"So, what do we do?" Rose was not surprised to see everyone turn and look at the Doctor at Gwen's question. These people, Jack's people, didn't even know the Doctor yet, though they may have known of him, and they were already putting their trust in him.

"There're machines yeah?" Owen asked looking from the Doctor to the frozen picture of the Dalek on the computer.

"Yes, well, kind of." The Doctor told him and Owen nodded his head.

"Couldn't we just, shut them off?" He asked and then shrugged his shoulders at the funny look the Doctor gave him. "Or not."

"Jack, I knew you wouldn't be running around with a bunch of idiots! Get on the horn, tell the local police to get people out of those areas, and keep tracking them." The Doctor told Jack as a huge smile spread across his face. "Back in a tick!" He called over his shoulder as he ran to the TARDIS pulling Rose behind him.

"So, that's the Doctor?" Gwen asked smirking up at Jack.

"Yep, that's him." Jack said nodding his head. "Well, you heard him, let's get going." Jack said after a moment of silence.

A/N-I hope you like this chapter. Let me know because I love to hear from you. I'm sorry it's a little shorter than the last one. More coming soon, promise!


	3. Changes

Chapter Three -o- Changes

Rose stood, her face pale as sweat trickled down her neck. Jack and the Doctor where standing on either side of her, slightly behind her. Her arms were hanging at her sides rather limply and her head was bowed as though in prayer. Finally, after a long moment Rose lifted her head, and stared at the Daleks in front of them. Jack took a step towards her his arm out stretched to touch her.

"Don't!" The Doctor hissed at him before he got to close. The Doctor looked back at Rose and so did Jack, her eyes, they were glowing. There was a light coming off her now, coating her in an ethereal glow. And it strongly reminded Jack of an angel sent down from heaven. She raised one arm and pointed a finger at the group.

"You've heard of The Oncoming Storm," Rose said her voice low, but not quite hers, "But I'd like to introduce you, to Bad Wolf." Rose said her voice growling out the last two words.

-o-Five Hours Earlier-o-

"It has to be here somewhere." The Doctor said as he searched under chairs, behind books and in small table drawers. Rose couldn't get him to tell her what he was looking for so all she could do was watch. So she decided on another approach to get him to talk to her.

"You said earlier I must be linked to them somehow." Rose told him and he looked briefly over his shoulder at her then nodded his head. "Do you think, could I link up to them any time I want?"

"Could be," The Doctor told her nodding his head again as he went looking for...whatever. "Both you and the Daleks are covered in the Vortex. Whatever you did could have just pulled them from hiding."

"Have you dealt with them again, I mean...since, Torchwood?" Rose asked and he stopped for a moment then went back to searching.

"Yes, once. Martha and I came up against Dalek Sec in the 1930's." He told her as he threw a pillow over his head. "He turned himself into a Dalek human hybrid and tried to take over the world."

"Who's...never mind. You stopped him yeah?" Rose asked thinking over this Martha girl. Of course she hadn't expected he would travel on alone and she wondered what she was like.

"Yeah," The Doctor said as he straightened up a huge smile on his face holding something in his hand. "And I'll tell you all about Martha later, you'd have liked her. Maybe we'll go by and see her, been a while."

"Right," Rose said nodding her head when he smiled at her. "Whatcha got there?"

"A homing beacon," He told her like it should be painfully obvious. Rose nodded her head and turned and followed him as he walked out the door. She wasn't sure what good a homing beacon would do, but she was willing to bet he had a plan of some kind.

-o-o-o-o-

"Found it!" the Doctor said as they reentered the hub. Everyone was at a different station working on the computes.

"That what we're gonna use to turn'um off?" Owen asked standing up and looking at the small device in the Doctor's hand. The Doctor snorted and shook his head.

"Can't turn them off; don't be stupid, if I could have done that don't you think I would have done it before?" He rolled his eyes and Rose had to hold back the laugh. She had missed this so much. "This," He said holding up the small device "is a homing beacon."

"Right." Owen said nodding his head obviously not understanding. "And...what are we going to do with it?"

"Set a trap." The Doctor said looking up to met Jack's eyes. "Don't suppose you have any really big bombs hidden around here somewhere, do you?" Jack smiled back at the Doctor, a glimmer in his eyes Rose hadn't seen since she'd returned.

"Doctor, I think I may have just what you need." Jack said nodding his head as he turned around and walked away. The Doctor looked over at Tosh and smiled at her.

"We're going to need a really old, really big, totally empty building as far outside of town as you can get." He told her and she nodded once then turned back to her computer.

"Do you have anything with a little more power?" The Doctor asked looking down at the gun on Owens hip.

"Course," Owen said nodding his head, he too turned and walked away. The Doctor turned to Rose and smiled.

"You and Gwen go into the TARDIS, I need you bring the Temporal shift distorter online, don't want any of these buggers getting away this time." The Doctor smiled at her, she squeezed his hand once then smiled over at Gwen.

"Come on, you're going to love the TARDIS." Rose said reaching out to take Gwen's hand. The Doctor turned around and smiled at Ianto and he smiled back.

"Tosh is going to stay here." The Doctor told him and Ianto nodded his head once. "Can't leave her here alone," Ianto nodded his head again. "So..."

"I'll get a weapon from Owen; she'll be fine under my watch." He told the Doctor a smile on his face. The Doctor nodded his head once, happy that Ianto didn't mind staying behind to watch over Tosh.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"What's the casualty count up too?" Jack asked Tosh quietly, he was leaning over her shoulder looking at the screen as she typed. The rest of the crew was getting everything together in the center of the hub. She looked up from her computer and sighed softly. Sometimes she hated being in charge of these things.

"127 people, the local police have moved people out at an unusually fast rate, almost like they'd been prepared for this." Tosh said as her hands flew over the keyboard.

"That's because they were." Jack said standing up straight again. "I had them set up an emergency evac incase of alien invasion years ago." Jack told her, of course he'd hoped it would never have to come into play.

"They've got most everybody out of the area that these things are in now, and they don't seem to be moving around a lot either." Tosh told him looking up from her screen again.

"They're waiting for orders." Jack told her and she nodded her head. He turned and walked down towards the rest of the group. Owen had gotten a few of the repossessed alien weapons they'd gotten over the years, the more dangerous ones, and they were busy putting together holsters for them. The Doctor was doing something to the homing beacon with his sonic screwdriver. Jack chuckled still at the thought of a sonic screwdriver.

"How's that coming?" Jack asked when he was close enough. The Doctor looked up at him a half crazy smile on his face and nodded his head.

"Almost done here," The Doctor told him nodding his head before going back to work. It was an odd feeling to be at Torchwood but be taking orders from the Doctor again, not that he minded. Being back with the Doctor and Rose, that was, the closed he figured he was ever going to get to heaven.

-o-o-o-o-

"We're done." Rose called as she and Gwen came running out of Jack's office. She had a look of triumph on her face and Jack smiled at her. They would all have to go to dinner after this, swap war stories, provided they all make it out. Jack shook his head of those thoughts and tried to think of a good place to take them. Gwen went over to help Owen and Ianto and Rose walked over to the Doctor.

"Doctor?" She asked softly looking down at him. He looked up at her and smiled.

"Yeah?" He asked and she reached down and took the sonic screwdriver out of his hand into her and smiled.

"Could I have a word?" She asked. Before he could answer she headed back towards the TARDIS, screwdriver in hand, smart girl. The Doctor looked up at Jack and then headed off after her.

She was just inside the doors, leaning up against the consol. She had on a white blouse, blue jeans and a long black leather jacket, sometimes; he missed the hoodies a little. He walked up to her and smiled as he reached out and took her hand.

"Something wrong?" He asked and she shook her head looking him in the eyes.

"No, just...I wanted to clear a few things up before we get started." She told him her voice serious.

"Right," He said nodding his head. It was a tone she used when he was in trouble and he was happy to see it hadn't changed over the years.

"Ok, number one-

"There's more than one thing?" He asked a little cheeky and she only stared. "Right, sorry, go on."

"Number one, don't get killed." She told him, her tone so serious he was a little confused. Of course he always tried to not die, that was always high on his list, but coming from her it sounded more like an order then a request, so he nodded his head.

"Number two, no sending me to safety." Her tone was hard and he had to break her gaze. He didn't know if he could promise her that, not when they were going into something like this. "Doctor, I mean it. If this thing..." She waved her hand between the two of them, "between us is going to work I need to know you trust me, like I trust you. You need to know you can count on me, like I count on you, and I need to know, when things get hard, you're not going to send me away for my own safety." She looked him hard in the eyes, never wavering, and all he could do was stare.

"Ok," He said after a long moment. "I promise." Rose nodded her head and reached out and took his hand into hers.

"Besides, I have a feeling you're going to need me." Rose told him her tone still halfway serious.

"Always," He told her leaning over so his forehead rested on hers.

"Hey, love birds, world in peril, Daleks on the loose, don't you think; _maybe_ this isn't the time for that?" Jack asked from the doorway of the TARDIS. Rose laughed as she pulled away from the Doctor and smiled at Jack.

"Everything ready?" She asked as she pulled the Doctor towards the doors.

"All set, what about you?" Jack asked looking at the Doctor. The Doctor smiled grabbed the sonic screwdriver out of Rose's hands and tweaked the homing beacon one last time.

"All set." He said looking up a huge smile on his face.

"Great, let's go blow us up some Dalek scum." Jack said a happy smile on his face.

-o-o-o-o-

"Ok, I've got us a location." Tosh said as they all gathered around the Doctor and Rose. "It's an abandon shipping yard on Ferry Road, just east of Llandough." She pointed to an old looking building on her screen and everyone nodded their heads.

"We'll all stay on com." Jack said as he handed Rose and the Doctor earpieces.

"Not a big fan of the earpiece." The Doctor said looking it over with a distrustful look on his face. Rose looked down at it and nodded her head.

"Yeah, me either, can't we just, use my mobile?" Rose asked the earpiece in the center of her palm.

"These are not going to take you over." Jack told them a stern look on his face. Neither of them looked convinced and Jack sighed. "Fine, dose can it be used as a two way radio?" He asked and Rose smiled. The Doctor took her phone when she pulled it out of her pocket. He pulled the back off fiddled a little with it put the back on and then smiled up at Jack.

"It can now." He told him handing Rose the phone back.

"A little jiggery pokery?" Rose asked and the Doctor smiled nodding his head.

"We're ready now?" Owen asked and everyone nodded their heads.

"Well then, let's get going." Gwen said standing from the couch. "I'd like to be home in time for EastEnders."

"Is that still on?" The Doctor asked shaking his head.

"That's a show that'll never die." Rose told him a smile on her face.

"Yeah, so it would seem." The Doctor stood with everyone else. "Always preferred sci-fi myself, how come there are no long lived sci-fi shows?"

"Another of life's great mysteries," Jack said shaking his head as they all headed out to the cars.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Rose hated abandoned buildings, she'd had a fear of them ever since she was a child and traveling with the Doctor had done nothing to help that fear. 120 years old and her childhood fears still followed her, now that sucked.

"Ok," The Doctor said as they all got out of the cars. "So, we turn on the beacon, set up the bomb and get out before they even show up. Then, bomb!" The Doctor said and Rose rolled her eyes at him. He was so dramatic.

"Owen you and Gwen stay out here, just in case they show up before we get out, help keep them occupied." Jack told them looking from Owen to Gwen. They both nodded their heads and Jack pulled his gun in close to him. "Do you know how to use that?" Jack asked looking down the large gun Rose was holding.

"What, this little old thing?" She asked a sly smile on her face. "It's only a multiple barrel semi automatic atomic shotgun designed by the Zocci, in say, 600 years or so." Rose rattled off a satisfied smirk on her face. "Come through the rift?"

"Among other things," Jack nodded his head and Rose laughed.

The three of them, Jack, Rose and the Doctor headed towards the building leaving Owen and Gwen behind. Halfway there Jack stopped turned and looked back at them. He reached up and touched his earpiece.

"Shot first, don't wait, don't even speak, you see one of these things you fire." Jack told them as a little bit of worry began to creep in. "They don't negotiate and they can't be reasoned with. Got that? Fire first."

"We'll be fine." Jack heard over his earpiece. "Go." Gwen said and he nodded his head and turned and ran to catch up with Rose and the Doctor.

-o-o-o-o-

"So how does this thing work anyway?" Rose asked as they walked through the hallways towards the stairs. She looked down at the bomb she and Jack were now carrying.

"Actually, we never could figure out how it works." Jack told her a concerned smile on his face. "Just that they do."

"Oh, goodie, I love using unknown alien technology." Rose said sarcastically.

"Don't worry, it'll do the job." Jack looked at the bomb to and sighed. "And then some."

It didn't take long to get up to the top floor and even less time setting up the homing beacon. Rose didn't recognize the bomb, as she did most of the guns they were using, and by 'they' she meant her and Jack, the Doctor didn't have a gun, and said he didn't need one. She watched as Jack set up the bomb and the Doctor fiddled with the homing beacon trying to figure out what he was doing. The Doctor looked up at her and saw her question look and smiled.

"I've set it up to interfere with their communications signal. Then it'll send out the same kind of signal that the TARDIS sends out when she'd refueling, making them think I've stopped here. I'm sure I'm still one of their top priorities."

"Thinks' a lot of himself, doesn't he?" Jack asked smirking at Rose over the Doctor's shoulder.

"Always has." Rose agreed and the Doctor looked offended.

"Hey, I can't help it if they all fear and loath me, the oncoming storm and all." Rose rolled her eyes trying not to giggle. When she'd met him, that title, and many of the others, had bothered him, but, it seemed, he'd grown to like this one.

"Right," Rose nodded her head holding back the smirk.

"So, Jack, Tell me about this Ianto guy? What have you two got going on?" Rose asked and giggled when Jack blushed a little. The Doctor chuckled and Jack shot him a glare.

"He's cute, I'll give you that." Rose said nodding her head as Jack went back to working on the bomb. "What's he like?"

"Hey guys, I hate to break up all this girl talk, but, I've got movement." Tosh said over the coms. Rose colored a little when she remembered they were all linked up to the hub.

"Oops," She smiled at Jack and shrugged one of her shoulders.

"Where are they?" The Doctor asked into Rose's phone.

"They're all heaed towards you guys." Tosh said and they could all hear the worry in her voice. "The first ones should be there in..." He voice trailed off into dead silence and they all exchanged worried glances.

"In what?" Jack finally asked sharply as he closed the bomb finally done rewiring it.

"They're gone." Tosh said surprise evident in her voice. "They all just disappeared off the screen. Rose and the Doctor looked at each other and then together looked at Jack. This was not good.

"Oh Shite!" Tosh said and they all expected the worry now. Something had gone very wrong. What a surprise.

"What?"

"They're on top of you, god there must be at least thirty of them, and they're all right on top of your position." She was yelling now, all traces of the calm, collected Tosh gone. The three of them looked around but saw nothing; there were no Daleks, anywhere.

"Do you hear that?" Rose asked looking from man to man. They all stood in complete silence and listened. They could all hear it, coming from down stairs. They were in the building; it was just a matter of time. They were on their way.

"I don't remember them being able to teleport!" Rose whispered angrily as she looked around for a way out. They were five stories up and below them was all concrete, it would not be a fun fall.

"Course they can." The Doctor said his voice taking on that 'I carry the whole weight of responsibility on my shoulders' tone.

"Transmat beams." Jack said nodding his head and sighed.

"I didn't even think of it." The Doctor began to look around again too. They all turned towards the door when they heard them getting closer.

"I don't suppose-

"Sorry, no teleporting, we haven't come across the technology yet." Jack said shaking his head. They all looked down as the lights on the bomb flashed twice and the whole thing powered down.

"What happened?" Rose demanded as Jack ran back over to it. He bent down opened the lid and starred down at it.

"Nothing, it's fine. It should be working." Jack shook his head unbelieving. "I don't know...I can't explain it."

"Doctor located." They all looked up at the voice, hard and mechanical, they were here. "Exterminate!"

"Exterminate!"

"Exterminate!"

"Exterminate!"

"Exterminate!"

They heard the voices coming from all around them; Rose looked out the window to see three flying outside. She smiled when two of them blew up and crashed back to the ground.

"Well, at least Owen and Gwen are having slightly better luck then us." Jack said as they all stood, weapons in hand, ready for a fight.

"Clear the area!" Jack called over his earpiece.

"We're not leaving without you Jack!" Gwen called back and Jack swore under his breath. They all jumped back a little when the door exploded inward towards them. There were at least ten Daleks on the other side. Jack and Rose started firing before the Daleks even moved. Dalek bits went flying everywhere as the Doctor began work on the bomb.

"Find anything?" Jack called over the noise.

"Nothing!" The Doctor called back shaking his head.

"That's bad." Jack said and Rose looked between the two of them, she'd just gotten them back, and come hell or high water, she was not losing them again.

"Stop!" She called and both Jack and the Doctor were surprised when the Daleks ceased fire. She turned and looked at the Doctor. "So, brought myself from an alternate dimension right?" Rose smirked as she looked back over at the Daleks who, for the moment, almost seemed frozen in time.

"Let's see what else I can do." She said looking towards the Daleks. Her arms fell, dropping the gun in the process, and hung limply at her sides.

The Doctor stood and moved to her side, as did Jack, ready to defend when the Daleks started shooting again. Though, somehow, they seemed almost mesmerized by her. Her face paled slightly as she lowered her head, her chin falling to her chest. The Doctor's breathe caught in his throat when, after a very long moment, Rose lifted her head to look at the Daleks again, but she couldn't see them, her eyes were closed.

"Don't!" He hissed when Jack moved towards her his arm outstretched. Jack pulled his hand back and sucked in a sharp breath when Rose's eyes popped open. They were glowing; a blinding yellow light seemed to flow from her every being. She looked as she had when he'd first found her, just outside Torchwood, only hours earlier. Rose looked between the two of them, her gaze lingering on the Doctor. Then she looked back at the Daleks and raised her arm slowly, pointing at them.

"You've heard of The Oncoming Storm," Rose said her voice low, but not quite hers, "But I'd like to introduce you to, Bad Wolf." Rose said her voice growling out the last two words. She raised both her arms out to her side then brought them up, clapping her hands together, course it sounded more like lightening then clapping. She, Jack and the Doctor were surrounded by a yellow light, it shimmered and wavered in front of them. The Daleks seemed to be brought out of their daze by the loud noise and they began to fire again, though none of their shots made it through Rose's yellow light.

"Exterminate!"

"Exterminate!"

"Exterminate!"

"Exterminate!"

"Exterminate!"

The Doctor watched Rose as she looked from one Dalek to the other a small smirk on her face. She turned her face and looked back at the bomb then at the Doctor. He stepped back when the bomb shifted and began to float. It hovered there for a moment then floated passed him then outside the yellow light, with the Daleks. Jack met the Doctor's eyes in fear but the Doctor shook his head. He knew his Rose, whatever she was doing, he trusted her.

"Jack, my Doctor, protected." Rose said taking the Doctor back. _'I want you safe. My Doctor, protected from the false god.'_ The Doctor half expected the Daleks to disintegrate right in front of him again, but they didn't.

"Remove yourself for the blast zone." Jack pulled his earpiece out as Rose's voice boomed over it. He assumed she was talking to Owen and Gwen.

"Go!" The Doctor yelled into the phone he still held. He could only hope they listened as Rose looked down at the bomb just outside the light surrounding them.

The Doctor blinked and when he opened his eyes everything had gone to hell. The entire building around them was splitting into thousands of pieces as Rose set off the bomb. It was an odd place to be, inside of the blast without being in the blast. Rose held her arms high above her head the whole time keeping them in a small bubble of light as the Daleks around them exploded with the blast. Time almost seemed to slow as they all watched; the Daleks and the walls around them fell to the earth, 40 meters down.

Jack watched as Rose lowered them to the ground when the explosion subsided. There were pieces of Daleks everywhere, none of them moved. Rose looked around once when they were safely on the rubble of the building. Jack could see Owen and Gwen came running from very far away, obviously having listened to Rose's command.

"Rose." The Doctor said when she met his eyes and smiled at him before her eyes fluttered shut and she fell into his waiting arms.

"Tosh, any traces?" Jack asked pushing his earpiece back in.

"No, you seem to have wiped them all out." Tosh said her voice happy. "What happened?" She asked and Jack looked to the Doctor and Rose a slightly confused look on his face.

"I'm not exactly sure." He said smiling at Gwen and Own. "Let's back it in and get a cleanup crew in here."

"On it," Tosh told him as she went back to the computer.

The Doctor gathered Rose up into his arms and they all headed towards the cars. The Doctor laughed lightly when they turned the corner and saw the cars, or what was left of them.

"Didn't we park out of the blast range?" Gwen asked looking at the very half squished half blown away cars.

"Well, for the normal alien bomb yes, but not the Bad Wolf enhanced bomb." The Doctor told them getting very confused looks from everyone.

-o-o-o-o-

"So, what's Bad Wolf?" Jack asked as they all sat inside the TARDIS kitchen around a cup of tea. Rose was safely tucked into a bed in the corner that hadn't been there before but was there when they arrived.

"Rose is." The Doctor said looking to the side at Rose. Her chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm as she slept. Gathering her energy he assumed, hoped, after all, she'd done a lot today.

"She's like me though, living forever, a fixed point in time." Jack said asked meeting his eyes. "Why-

"She's like you, but different Jack. Even the TARDIS recognized the difference." He looked around the ship. "The vortex, it did something to her that I couldn't sense."

"I thought you took the power out of her." Jack asked looking at Rose too. Gwen, Tosh, Ianto and Owen were on the edge of their seats as they listened.

"So did I." The Doctor said a little sadly as he looked away from her. "Something must have stayed, some bit of the TARDIS, still in her."

"So, I'm wrong, a fixed point in time, what's Rose?" Jack asked looking away from her too to meet the Doctor's eyes again.

"I don't know, Bad Wolf, though I'm not quite sure what that means." The Doctor said shaking his head. It was a little odd to have the Doctor admit he didn't know something, it worried Jack a little.

"Whatever it is she seems to be able to control it." Jack said picking up his tea and taking a drink.

"For now," The Doctor whispered looking down at his full cup.

"What?" Jack asked his head popping up at the Doctor's words.

"Nothing," The Doctor said popping up from his seat a smile on his face now. "Shall we make sure there's no more Daleks?" He asked looking around at the group.

"I closed of the gap," Tosh said as they all stood. "There haven't been any more coming through."

"Good to know." The Doctor said nodding his head. "Why don't you lot go home, get some rest, I'm going to take Rose to her room."

"Ok," Jack said nodding his head and he and the group headed from the door. "Your not going to disappear while I'm sleeping right?"

"I won't, Rose would have my head." The Doctor smiled cheekily at him and Jack laughed.

"Right," Jack nodded his head before he followed his team off the ship and back out into Torchwood.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

He shifted in his seat as he opened his eyes when the monitor across the room began to beep over and over again. He sighed as he stood from his seat and walked over to the screen afraid of what he might find there. It seemed monstrously unfair to lose Rose now after have just gotten her back. He ripped the paper out of the printer as the results printed out. He pulled out his glasses and then read over the print out, then he read it over again. He looked up at the screen and saw the same information. He'd thought for sure, all that energy, she wasn't meant to hold that kind of power.

After Jack and his team left he'd carried Rose back to her room and put her to bed. Then he'd taken a sample of her blood to run a few tests, see what he could tell her when she woke up. But he had not expected these findings. He wasn't sure if how Rose was going to take this, he hoped shed be happy, he certainly was. He pulled his glasses off and tucked them into his breast pocket, along with the printout and headed back towards Roses' room.

He opened the door slowly and wasn't surprised to find she was still asleep on the bed. He walked over quietly, not that he could have woken her, she was technically in a bit of a coma, recovering the energy used to block them from the blast. He sat down on the edge of the bed and smiled down at her as he brushed a strand of hair out of her face.

He reached over and placed his hand gently on her forehead, a little test. There had been traces in her blood, not much, but it was there, time to see what it could do.

As soon as he closed his eyes he was surrounded by light, a dark blue radiating light that seemed to be pulsating to some kind of soft music playing in the background.

"What are you doing here?" The voice was soft and he turned around to find Rose standing behind him, she looked as she had the last time he saw her, right before he lost her.

"We're in-

"My head, I know." She said nodding her head a smile on her face. "But I'm not dreaming."

"No," He agreed shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Well, you've never come into my mind before." She told him sitting down on the floor, cross-legged a smile on her face. "Is something wrong? I could wake up if you need me too."

"No, nothing, you need to sleep." He told her and she nodded.

"Hard work holding the Daleks like that," She told him a smirk on her face. "I...I wasn't sure I'd even be able to do it."

"You were fantastic Rose, saved us all." The Doctor said walking over to her to sit down. It didn't surprise him that inside her own head she was still that 19 year old girl he'd first picked up. "I ran a few tests."

"Knew you would," Rose said smirking at him as she patted the floor next to her. "What did you find?" She asked as he sat down next to her. She rested her head on his shoulder.

"You're not going to live forever." He told her a little more bluntly then he'd planned. She laughed softly and leaned away from him.

"Of course I'm not." She told him a knowing smile on her face. "I'm not like Jack. Can't die, but I won't live forever either."

"How do you know?" He asked and she took a deep breath then sighed.

"Just feel it I guess." She said shrugging her shoulders. "There's something else, what?"

"You're DNA has been altered slightly." He told her and she smiled nodding her head.

"No two hearts though." She said shaking her head. "Seems a little unfair," She laughed again at the look on his face. "What, you seem to be forgetting that I'm over hundred years old Doctor, I've run a few tests myself."

"There was no way of knowing for sure, seeing as I had no Gallifreyan DNA on hand, but I figured that was the only thing that made sense for the anomaly in my DNA now." She smiled and waved her hand in front of them. A strand of DNA appeared, like some kind of hologram, in front of them. She smiled at him and then took his hand.

"See, right there." She pointed with her other hand. Where a normal human had a double helix DNA Rose had a triple helix now. Different then a Gallifreyan, but not human either.

"I didn't think to look for Bad Wolf." Rose said as the DNA disappeared. She rested her head on his shoulder again and sighed. "I thought it was gone, thought you took it out of me."

"So did I," The Doctor said wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "I'm sorry." He said resting his head on hers.

"It's ok." She said knowing he knew she didn't blame him. It had been her chose, and not one she would ever change. "So, not going to live forever, how long do I have then?"

"Oh, eight, nine hundred years." He said and she let out a soft happy sigh.

"Good." She said smiled as she nestled into his shoulder. "Would you like to see Lily?" She asked in a small voice as she pulled away and looked at him. He smiled slowly and nodded his head.

"Very much," He told her. Rose reached over and placed her hand on his forehead and closed her eyes as the Doctor did and they were both pulled into a very happy memory of Rose and her daughter.

-o-o-

The TARDIS seemed to almost purr in happiness as the Doctor and Rose lay on her bed, both their hands on each other's heads, happy smiles on both their faces as they slept.

A/N- So what do we think? I hope you all like it, and I hope you let me know. There's one more chapter in this one and I'm going to be working on the sequel in a while. Have a great week and don't forget to Review:-)


	4. Us

Chapter Four -o- Us

Rose hated waking in the morning with the sounds of the TARDIS in her head. It was hard enough, being stuck away from her Doctor, but the constant reminder was heart breaking. She sighed and rolled her neck before she opened her eyes. She drew in a sharp breath at who was lying in her bed with her. As she stared at his sleeping face the last days events came crashing down around her like a tidal wave.

She wasn't stuck, she was home, she was safe, and she was with her Doctor. And she remembered, the night before, walking him through her most precious memories of her daughter, their happiest times. She smiled lightly as she reached out and brushed a strand of his hair out of his face. In all her time with him, she'd never just sat and watched him sleep. Not that he slept a lot, hardly at all in fact. So it was nice, he looked peaceful, watching him sleep. His arm was over her stomach, a welcome weight. And when she shifted slightly he groaned softly in his sleep.

Lightly she ran her hand through his hair and smiled when he moved into her touch. Slowly, so as not to wake him, she leaned towards him, and gently pressing her lips to his. It was like no other feeling in the world, kissing her Doctor. And when his arm tightened around her abdomen she knew he was awake. She smiled into his lips as she kissed him again, raking her fingers through his hair. After a long sensual kiss he pulled away and looked at her, his eyes full of wonder.

"I thought I dreamed you." He told her his voice soft, as though he was scared if he talked to loudly she may disappear.

"I'm right here Doctor." She said putting her free hand over his chest, feeling his hearts beat. "I'll always be right here." She told him before she leaned in and kissed him again.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

A long while later, wrapped up in nothing but the Doctor and a sheet, Rose slept again. It amazed the Doctor sometimes; he was a man who, when he met her, had had nothing. And now, he held everything in his arms. It had taken losing her to make him come to terms with it. And yet, he'd know he loved her with two little words.

'_Do it.' She said her voice deadly serious, a look on her face that told him she wasn't just being dramatic. _

'_You don't even know what it is. You'd just let me?' It had been a moment that seemed frozen in time, as he stared across the table at her._

'_Yeah,' she'd said, her voice still just as serious. In that moment he had fallen, and he'd never found his way out again. _

And, lying there with her now he knew, nothing had changed, for either of them. Lying there with her, it was like coming home. He pulled her close and smiled when she shifted so her head was on his chest. He ran his hand through her hair; he really did like it so long and just smiled down at her.

"Rose," He said her name softly, unsure if she had woken or not. She tilted her head back and looked up at him a lazy smile on her face, she was half awake.

"Yes?" She murmured her voice full of sleep.

"I love you." He told her, and felt at once as though a weight had been lifted from his heart. He watched as her whole face lit up with a smile. She was awake now. She scooted back a little so she could look at him properly. She nodded her head one then leaned in and kissed him.

"I love you." She told him when she finally pulled away. She ran her fingers through his hair and then yawned. The Doctor laughed lightly and she laid her head back down on his chest.

"So," The Doctor said as he started to play with her hair. "Bad Wolf, we're going to have to work on that."

"I know, whatever it is I can feel it in me now. The power, it's right there, at the surface, just waiting." Rose said her voice awed and a little worried. "I can control it, surprisingly enough, but I'd like to understand it better, be able to use it when it's not a life and death situation."

"Right," The Doctor said nodding his head. "Well, we'll work it out."

"Course we will." Rose said closing her eyes again. "I'm just going to, close my eyes for a moment." She said yawning again.

"Right," The Doctor said pulling the blankets closer to them. "You do that."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Jack could feel the change in his friends as soon as he stepped onto the TARDIS. There was a new feeling in the air, a feeling he knew well. He smirked as he walked over to Rose; she was sitting in the control room, watching the Doctor as he fiddled under the control panel. He leaned against her chair and turned to look at the Doctor too.

"Had a good shag have we?" He asked as bluntly as he possibly could then laughed at the look on her face. She laughed too and slapped his arm before she sighed and shrugged.

"Don't hide it very well huh?" She asked looking back to the top of the Doctors head.

"No, though, he's pretty much glowing with it." Jack said and she smirked. He sat down next to her and wrapped his arm over her shoulder.

"Bout time too." Jack said just loud enough for the Doctor to hear him. The Doctor's head popped up from under the grate and he stared at Jack. "Just sayin." Jack said shrugging his shoulder. The Doctor rolled his eyes but both Rose and Jack saw the small smile as he disappeared again.

"So, now what?" Jack asked looking down at her.

"Ah well, you know, same old same old." Rose joked shrugging her shoulders. "Saving the worlds, one at a time." Rose smirked and Jack laughed.

"You could come." The Doctor's voice rang out from under the consol before his head popped back up again. It surprised Jack to see such a hopeful look on the Doctor's face. With everything going on with Rose he'd have thought they'd want to be alone for a while.

"I'd love to, but, I've got my team here." Jack said looking from a disappointed Doctor to a disappointed Rose. Well, that was a surprise; both of them wanted him to come along. After a moment Rose stood and smirked down at him.

"You know, I don't know if you know this, Jack Harkness," She reached out and grabbed his hand pulling him up too. "But this here ship-

"TARDIS." The Doctor clarified and Rose smiled nodding her head.

"She travels through time." Rose told Jack as though he'd never heard it before.

"You could be gone for years with us and when you get back no more than twelve hours will have passed." The Doctor said smiling at Jack. Rose snorted and shook her head meeting Jack's eyes she smirked.

"I've heard that before." She told the Doctor pulling Jack over to the control panel. The Doctor climbed out and closed the grate before smiling up at Jack.

"So, we could go anywhere, any time." The Doctor said and Jack looked between the two of them. He so badly wanted to go. And the team could do without him for a few days, right?

"Somewhere we've never been before." Jack said looking between the two of them as he leaned against the railing.

"There are lots of places we didn't get to go too, right Doctor?" Rose asked looking over at him a huge smile on her face. Her, the Doctor and Jack, she had never felt more right with two people in her whole life, and she's met a lot of people.

"There are a lot of places." The Doctor agreed nodding his head as he typed a few things into the control panel. "But there's this one place, and this one time I think you might find interesting." The Doctor said looking up at Jack after a moment. Jack leaned forward when the Doctor swiveled the screen around to show him. Jack's eyes went wide for a moment and he looked back over at Rose before meeting the Doctor's eyes again.

"It'd be dangerous." Jack said and Rose laughed nodding her head. She didn't know where the Doctor was thinking of taking them, but she could see he'd just about hooked Jack.

"It's always dangerous." Rose told him as she walked over to look down at the screen. "Though I don't know what we'd want in the year 5034. What's that, like the 51st century?" Rose looked up and met Jacks eyes and it dawned on her. "That's when you're from, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is." Jack said nodding his head as he looked down at his hands. The Doctor was offering him answers, answers he wasn't sure he wanted. What if he didn't like what he found?

'_Your friend over there doesn't trust me. And for all I know... he's right not to.' _

It had been a very long time since he'd told Rose that, but it was still true. For all he knew he'd done something, something bad. He wasn't sure he wanted to know. He liked who he was now, mostly. What if these answers, what if they told him something he couldn't live with?

"It can't possibly be worse than not knowing." Rose said putting her hand on his shoulder. He hadn't even heard her approach. He looked up and met her eyes. The mood had suddenly changed and Jack knew he was the cause of it. But they both looked concerned, and neither of them looked afraid, which was more then he could say.

"When did you start reading minds?" he asked trying to flash her his trade mark smile, but he failed and sighed.

"Just know you is all." Rose told him reaching down to take his hand.

"What if it _is_ worse than not knowing?" He asked and Rose could see the fear in his eyes, it was not something one often saw with Jack Harkness, "what if I did something really horrible?"

"I don't think so." The Doctor said and Jack looked over Rose's shoulder to meet his eyes. "I think the horrible was done to you, not by you."

"And, by some small chance something you did back then was bad, even really bad, that's not who you are now." Rose pulled his face back to hers by his chin. "Right?"

"Right," Jack said after a moment's hesitation. He took a deep breath and nodded his head, "right." He said again, not quite sure who he was trying to convince.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"I'll only be gone a few days." Jack told Gwen as he stuffed a few papers into his bag. He looked up from his packing and smiled at her. "But, while I'm away, you're in charge."

"What? Jack you can't just-

"Boss," Jack said pointing to himself a smirk on his face. "I can just anything, I trust you Gwen, you should trust you too."

"So, you're just going to go off with this Doctor-

"You lot go on vacation, Paris, America, Tosh and Owen just got back from Spain, I'm not allowed a week?" Jack asked her still smirking as he walked over to his file cabinet and pushed in a code. "You'll do fine without me."

"Why do you have to be gone at all? I mean, isn't that thing a time machine, couldn't you just pop out and pop back in minutes later." Tosh asked poking her head into the office. Jack looked over at her and rolled his eyes. He hadn't even noticed her hiding behind the door, which was saying a lot seeing as she was almost bigger than the door.

"I could," Jack laughed lightly as he handed a file to Gwen. "But, the Doctor and the TARDIS, well, mostly it's the TARDIS I think; they have a hard time with specifics." Jack chuckled again shaking his head. "One time we accidently left Rose on a planet for- He shook his head at the looks on their faces and sighed.

"This isn't like last time, I'm telling you where I'm going, when I'll be back, everything." Jack said looking away from Tosh back to Gwen. "These are the codes you'll need while I'm away. Try to stay out of trouble." He pulled his duffle bag off his chair and headed out his door passed Tosh.

"A week?" Ianto asked from the couch looking up from his coffee.

"Ten days, tops." Jack said smiling at him before he looked around the hub. "Where's Owen?" He asked looking at Tosh.

"Right here." Owen said walking in from the back. He looked a little irritated too.

"Man, can't a guy go on a vacation?" Jack asked looking around at all the stony faces.

"That's just the thing Jack." Gwen said stepping forward before she reached out and put her hand on his shoulder. "Whatever you're doing it's not a vacation, you have that look in your eyes."

"What look?" Jack asked looking down at her.

"That, this-could-get-us-killed, look." Tosh said smiling a little.

"Ah, that look," Jack said nodding his head, it wasn't as though he was the only one here who had that look; he just wore it the most.

"Ok, yeah, it's probably not 100 percent safe." Jack told them shrugging his shoulders a little. "But, hey, it's not as though you run the risk I'll come back in a body bag, what are you worried about?"

"Well, we're your team; you're supposed to do this kind of thing with us." Owen said and Jack sighed again smiling at them. He was so proud of his team, even if he did want to shot them sometimes.

"This is..." He shook his head a plastered a smile on. "This is something I need to do with the Doctor, he can help me."

"And we can't?" Ianto asked and Jack detected a hint of jealousy to his voice.

"It's not that you can't, it's that I don't want you too." Jack said bluntly looking over at Ianto. "I need you here, watching the rift, keeping this place in check." Jack told them looking at each of them. He smiled and moved off towards the lift.

"It's only ten day's guys, you'll be fine." Jack told them as he stopped in front of the lift. He smiled at them and waited till each one smiled, or, in Owens case, smirked back at him. Then he climbed onto the lift and pulled his bag up.

"Don't let this place fall apart while I'm gone yeah?" Jack asked as the lift started to rise. "And keep each other safe. Tosh, try and wait till I get back to pop ok?"

"Oh yeah, I'll work on that!" Tosh yelled up at him making him laughed. They all watched till he was gone them milled about for a few moments.

"Ok then," Gwen said sighing a little as she looked around. "You heard Jack, let's not let this place fall down round our ears." She smiled at them as they all went off to their stations to start for the day. Gwen stood there a moment longer, and then she turned and almost ran head on into Ianto.

"You think he'll be ok?" Ianto asked looking down at her.

"Sure he will, he's Jack." She told him as though that explained everything. Ianto smiled slightly and nodded his head, still a little worried. But then, they would all probably worry a little for the next ten days.

-o-o-o-o-o-

"Are we all ready?" The Doctor asked as Jack shut the doors behind him. Rose smiled over at him from her seat on the banister and Jack smiled back.

"Yeah, ready and waiting." Jack said nodding his head.

"Well, your room's right where you left it, go settle in while I finish fueling up." The Doctor told him a smile on his face. Jack nodded and squeezed Rose's shoulder as he passed her on his way towards his room.

"So," Rose said hoping down and walking around the control panel till she was standing next to him. "Just like old times huh?" She asked a smirk on her face as he looked up at her. He leaned over slowly and kissed her softly before he pulled back. She loved the look he got on his face just after kissing her; it was so full of love and happiness.

"Well, maybe not _just_ like old times." He told her and she laughed nodding her head.

"Quite right too," Rose told him nodding her head a smile on her face as well. She leaned in and kissed him lightly. She didn't pull away till she heard someone clearing their throat behind her.

"You two going to be doing a lot of that?" Jack asked with a it's-about-time look on his face.

"Well, what can I say, a hundred years is a long time to wait for a kiss. I've a lot of time to make up for." Rose told him a satisfied smirk on her face.

"Are we all fueled up?" Jack asked looking at the Doctor.

"She's ready and waiting." The Doctor said and Rose moved away to watch as the Doctor went to work. Jack just stood there, a pensive look on his face, staring at the large column in the middle on the room.

He could tell him to reset the coordinates, take them somewhere else and the Doctor would do it. No questions asked, he'd take them where ever Jack asked. Did you really want to know? Was he ready for what he might find? Jack looked from the Doctor to Rose; she looked the same, till he met her eyes. And yet, after so much time she was ready to jump into the mix with him again. Set off on an adventure like they'd never been apart.

The Doctor could sense Jack's hesitation and didn't blame him. This was a big step, finding out what he was missing. It was hard, finding a piece of yourself you didn't remember having. And, knowing a little of how Jack was feeling the Doctor smiled and pushed a few different buttons.

"But I was wondering if it'd be ok if we drifted in the vortex for a few days." Jack looked up sharply at the Doctor meeting his eyes. "I'd like to have a little time to help Rose work on her Bad Wolf side." Jack knew what he was doing, could see it in his eyes, and he was grateful

"Yeah, ok." Jack said nodding his head. A few days, that would be nice, get himself ready for the fight ahead, he could live with that. "A few days would be fine."

"Ok," The Doctor said nodding his head. Jack smiled and turned walking out the door.

"I'll make dinner!" he called over his shoulder as he disappeared out the door. Rose snickered and looked at the Doctor. He looked over at her and sighed.

"What?" He asked and she laughed a little harder shaking her head.

"Nothing," She told him still laughing a little. "It's just...going a little soft in your old age?" She asked, he grabbed for her but she was too fast, leaving him grabbing onto the air.

"Rose Tyler!" He called as she ran out of the room.

"You'll never catch me!" She called over her shoulder and the Doctor laughed as he set the TARDIS to drift in the vortex for a while. He smiled to himself, it wouldn't take long to run her down, and then, since Jack was cooking, they'd have a good meal. 'When did I get so domestic?' He thought to as he started towards the door.

"Doctor?! You comin?" Rose called from just down the hall. 'Oh, right.' He thought as he ran out the door after her.

A/N- Ok, so what do we think? What was your favorite part about the end? The whole story? Did I keep everyone in character? Let me know because I love to hear from you guys! This is the end of this one, but it will continue on in the sequel, soon to come.


End file.
